Iceberg threatens a tiny village
An 11 million-tonne iceberg is parked precariously close to the tiny village of Innaarsuit – a glacial faceoff that pits 169 residents of Greenland against the biggest iceberg many have ever seen.
Their fate could depend entirely on the weather forecast.
If a strong enough wind blows at the right time, the berg could be dislodged from the spot where it has grounded, and float harmlessly into Baffin Bay.
But if Mother Nature brings enough rain, the relatively warm precipitation could further destabilise the iceberg, sending a chunk of it into the ocean and creating a tsunami that could wash away part of the town.
‘‘We are very concerned and are afraid,’’ Karl Petersen, chair for the local council in Innaarsuit, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. So far, 33 people have been moved to safer places inland. Others have been encouraged to move their boats away from the iceberg.
Innaarsuit is about 960km north of Nuuk, the country’s capital. The village’s residents are mostly hunters and fishermen in an isolated area most easily reached by boat or helicopter.
The iceberg is 200m wide – nearly the length of two football fields – and rises 90m above sea level, according to the New York Times. In terrifying pictures, it literally casts a shadow on a hilly outcropping of Innaarsuit, dwarfing boats, homes and businesses. Residents don’t need lengthy memories to know the effect even a small tsunami could have on the country that doubles as the world’s biggest island.
Last June, according to Quartz, a landslide caused by a 4.1 magnitude earthquake that struck 30km north of the village of Nuugaatsiaq partly triggered a
‘‘We are very concerned and are afraid.’’ Karl Petersen
tsunami that washed away 11 homes and killed four people.
Video posted to Facebook, then to Youtube, showed villagers sprinting away from approaching waves washing over seaside homes.
‘‘Tsunamis caused by landslides in bays can rise to incredible heights, travel at devastating speeds, and cause massive destruction, according to Quartz.